The People's History of Cleveland by George Markham Tweddell

The People's History of Cleveland by George Markham Tweddell

Four Volumes 1872

George Markham Tweddell began writing up his People's History after he left Lancashire

(Bury), where he was headmaster of Ragged (Industrial) school in the 1850's.

"..I had left Lancashire to commence writing that History of my native Cleveland and its Vicinage for which i had long been collecting materials, - even before my friend Walker Ord had thought of his or indeed had studied it himself.."

The full works were to encompass 32 parts which, as was the custom, would eventually be made into a book. However only 4 parts were published for some reason and any manuscripts of the materials are presumed lost owing to the fact that after his death, much of Tweddell's notes and unpublished manuscripts (or those that are not in the Cleveland Archives) were lost in the Stokesley flood of the 1930. They were in the cellar of Rose Cottage in Stokesley and the relatives rescued the books but not is papers. Great shame!

A manuscript exists in Middlesbrough Reference library on Middlesbrough, going back long before the town existed, in a way not covered by other histories of the area, and giving a great description of early Middlesbrough, its staithes etc. Some of this material was used for an extended essay for the Middlesbrough Centenary and is on this site. The manuscript itself is above the Reference library where only staff are allowed, so you would have to ask to see this document. I would think this would have been part of later installments. Historian Asa Briggs consulted it for his Victorian Cities book and the essay on Middlesbrough. View the extended essay on Middlesbrough here -  https://georgemarkhamtweddell.blogspot.com/2012/12/tweddells-history-of-middlesbrough-1890.html

Click the arrow to read on Google docs in an expanded window or download the pdf.